1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capture device which is set to the capture or playback enable state with a single button operation and a mode switching program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, to capture (record) an image of an object to be captured such as a scene or to play back the captured image with an electronic or digital camera, it is required to operate a power switch (button) and a mode changeover switch (for example, a slide switch) which are mounted on the camera. That is, in the conventional digital camera, turning on the power to the camera and switching between capture (REC) and playback (PLAY) modes should be performed separately.
Another type of electronic camera has been proposed which has a mode changeover switch which doubles as the power switch. This switch has a first stop position at which the capture mode is set, a second stop position at which the playback mode is set, and a third stop position between the first and second positions at which the power is turned off. That is, turning the power on or off and switching between the capture and the playback mode is allowed by operating the single mode changeover switch. This type of camera is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2000-307919.
With the former-type electronic camera having the power switch and the mode changeover switch, however, if the camera is in the playback mode when the power switch is turned on, the mode changeover switch must be operated to set the capture mode in order to capture an object image to be captured. This is time-consuming, resulting in failure to carry out shooting immediately. If, on the other hand, the camera is in the capture mode when the power is turned on, the mode changeover switch must likewise be operated to set the playback mode to review an image already captured. This is also time-consuming.
With the latter-type camera described in the above Patent Publication, when switching from the playback mode to the capture mode or vice versa, the mode changeover switch will pass through the third or center stop position at which the power is turned off. That is, the power becomes turned on in the capture or playback mode after it is turned off once. In case of urgent shooting or review, therefore, a time is taken to set the camera to the shooting enable state or the review enable state.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an image capture device and a mode switching method in which the shooting enable state or the review enable state is set with a single button operation.